THE MOMENT
Wilbur stopped and stared at the hole in the air. He'd opened the door to file storage and turned on the lights to find a black spot hovering where he expected to find the filing cabinet. He realized it was large enough for a person to walk through at the same moment a gold-skinned woman emerged. She floated through the hole and hovered in front of Wilbur for a moment while the portal disappeared. He wasn't sure what was happening; but, a small part of him took comfort when the filing cabinet reappeared. At least something was still normal.
The golden woman seemed shorter than Wilbur but it was hard to tell with her feet not touching the ground. He was too confused to panic but he met her eyes and he saw them glow with golden stars.
"Unique Soul #24 El Cotorro. The parrot," she said. Then, she gestured to the air next to Wilbur. He looked at where she directed and he saw another black portal open up. "I am destroying this Earth in five minutes; you may leave," she said. Her voice had an artificial, stiff cadence that helped explain her metallic, golden skin. Wilbur turned back to the woman.
"Is that right?" he asked. "Why?" Wilbur did not have a plan, but he hoped that he could delay her somehow. He did not know who she was or where she came from. But, he didn't doubt she could and would deliver on her threat. It didn't even sound like a threat; more a statement of fact. She titled her head at him.
"Query unclear. Explain: Why, what?" she asked. Her response convinced Wilbur he was dealing with a robot of some sort. He felt good about that. He didn't know much about robots, but he'd seen a few movies and read a few message boards on the subject. And, he was hopeful that she responded at all.
"Both," he said. "Why are you going to destroy the Earth and why are you letting me leave? And, a third question, what's your name?"
"I am searching for Unique Soul #46 El Sol. El Sol is not on this Earth, only humans," she said. She gave Wilbur a disconcerting grin. "I prefer to eliminate humans individually; but, I must continue my search. Destroying the Earth kills them more efficiently. You may leave because you are not human." Then, she put her hand to her chest and gave him a curt bow. "Designation: Io," she said.
"Waitwaitwaitwait," Wilber waved his hands to try and physically clear the air. "What do you mean I'm not human?" he asked. He looked down at his arms and wiggled his fingers, then he looked back at Io. "I look pretty human," he said.
"Your soul is Unique. You do not qualify as 'Human' regardless of your exterior," Io replied.
"And you don't want to kill my special soul?" he asked.
"Killing Uniques provides no entertainment," Io shrugged. Wilbur's idea crystallized with that answer and he put his plan into motion. If he was lucky, she wouldn't even get to start her five minute countdown.
"So, you want to kill everyone on Earth?" Wilbur asked. Io nodded. "But not me?" he asked.
"Not at the moment," Io replied.
Wilbur was not a clever man. Nor was he particularly hard working. At the age of 48, he was working the same entry level office job he started in his 20s. Unfortunately, he was oblivious to those limitations. He grinned at Io.
"Then, I'm not going anywhere," he said. He stood straighter and crossed his arms for effect. He wanted to look good as he was saving the world. "If you want to kill everyone on this Earth, you'll have to kill me too." Io tilted her head at Wilbur in surprise; his smile grew wider. Then, she raised her hand towards him and it began to glow with bright blue light. Wilbur felt a blast of heat from it; but, he didn't have time for second thoughts.
"Confirmed," Io replied.